


open wounds

by rrosebudd



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, American Sign Language, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Deaf Character, Deaf Farmer, Doctor/Patient, F/F, F/M, Fights, Hate Speech, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbians, TW for: r slur; d slur, Unrequited Crush, Violence, use of ASL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:21:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rrosebudd/pseuds/rrosebudd
Summary: Alex and Farmer Erin got along for one night, and that was it. He confronts her one evening with Sam at his side, mad about her giving him the run around, and things turn sour fast, with vile words thrown, followed by fists. Erin is strong, but gets beaten down pretty bad, and must be brought to the clinic to face those she truly cares about, as the doctor patches her wounds and her true love looks on.
Relationships: Alex/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Harvey/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Leah/Female Player (Stardew Valley), it's implied that the farmer is involved with Several of the bachelor(ette)s
Kudos: 14





	1. beaten down

The day had been, up until the assault, rather pleasant. 

Farmer Erin had breezed through her chores, went shopping and fishing, and as the sun set, she headed up to the mountains for some early-summer foraging. The colors of the dusk at that altitude were really worth the hike. 

Darkness soon crept up, but Erin didn’t mind the trek home, as she had the light of her ring to guide her, and the muscle memory of the town under her feet. She held a basket in small but strong arms, filled with spice berries and wild grapes and several flower types she’d yet to properly identify. 

The roof of Evelyn and George’s house came into view as she headed southwest across the river, followed by the glowing warmth of the Stardrop Saloon, though it must have been rather vacant on a Monday evening like this. She considered stopping as she passed by Penny’s mom’s trailer, if only to chat with whoever might be inside. The thought was interrupted. 

A hand connected with the back of her shoulder and shoved. Distracted by herself, Erin was shaken back to reality as she stumbled forward, her feet slipping on damp grass, and she hit the ground, hard. 

Her basket went sprawling away from her, the day’s foraging items scattered and damaged. She got her palms underneath her and pushed, flipping onto her back and pulling herself to sit up, all the while trying to get a look at the person responsible and give them a piece of her mind.

People, rather. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness ahead of her, she saw two male figures ahead of her. Sam was yelling at her, closer to her, and likely the one who knocked her down. Alex stood behind him, arms crossed and brows lowered. 

She focused on Sam’s mouth, ready to fire back if she needed to. 

“Don’t you know it’s rude to ignore someone if they’re calling for you?” He snapped, his lips just a little hard to read in the darkness. 

Erin wanted to roll her eyes, but didn’t. She felt behind her for her basket, watching Alex and his lackey with an unamused glare. 

“Guess we forgot you’re too stupid to hear,” Sam added, before glancing to his friend as though searching for approval. Alex snorted. 

She should have seen this coming, unfortunately. She looked down and began to gather the items she could salvage, before placing the basket aside and shakily bringing herself up to her feet with a sigh. She didn’t have time for this; she still had to make dinner. 

“What do you want, Alex,” Erin spoke finally, not all the words very clear, as was expected with her accent. She crossed her arms, too, mirroring him. 

He scoffed, shaking his head, his brown hair flopping in front of his eyes for a moment. “You know what this is about.”

“I don’t.”

He ground his teeth. “Come on.”

She didn’t budge, shrugging her shoulders with a rising amount of annoyance. She had an inkling, but she wanted to hear it.

“Friday night.”

“What about it?”

She saw his jaw tense at her response, a vein on his neck bulging slightly. Sam patted Alex’s arm with the back of his hand. 

“It meant nothing to you, then.” He huffed in disbelief. Maybe hurt. 

Her shoulders softened slightly, and she dropped her arms with an exhale. “Alex, it…” she tried to find the words. “It was nice. Really.”

“But?” He sneered.

“ _ But _ , I didn’t think it was that… serious,” she tread carefully, eyeing the tension in his arms. “We didn’t do much,” she rubbed the back of her arm. She wished she could look away, but that would end the conversation. 

“My boy pours his heart out and you leave him hanging?” Sam interjected, seemingly just as angry on ‘his boy’s’ behalf. “Not cool.”

Erin ran a hand down the side of her face, at a loss. “I had a good time. But that’s it,” she offered a weak half-laugh. “I don’t see it going anywhere, I’m sorry.” 

“Real sorry, I bet,” Alex nodded, sardonicism ever present in his words. That annoyed her. “Is that why you’re screwing that girl?”

She paused. “What?”

“That… redhead freak from the woods who lives alone. You two have been awful close, huh?” He jerked his chin at her, brow raised triumphantly as though having caught her in a lie. 

“Leah?” Erin clarified, and as she so much as thought the name, her cheeks burned. “So what?” 

“So you reject a good guy just to start fawning over some chick?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “If people hear about something like that, they might get the wrong idea.”

Sam chuckled, genuinely amused, as he bounced off his partner. “Imagine the town finding out the local farmer’s a slut.”

Her jaw dropped agape slightly, and she had to swallow her own rising fury. “That’s not--” she growled. She took a deep breath. They wanted to provoke her, she knew, and she really just wanted to get home and go to bed. “You’re an ass. Both of you,” she pointed between them, words firm and almost like a teacher scolding children. “It’s none of your business, so drop it.”

“Oh, I think it’s better everyone knows  _ just  _ what kind of a person you are,” Alex snapped, stepping forward, and it was then Erin realized how close their faces were. “I learned my lesson, though. I’m just glad I know better than to fool around with some retarded dyke.”

She slapped him. The anger in her chest sparked up into her arm, and before she could register the decision, she’d smacked him across his stupid smug face. She packed quite a hit with the strength in her arms, and knocked his head to the side completely.

Erin surprised herself, but she held fast, teeth clenched and steely expression unwavering. Alex, weirdly, wasn’t surprised at all. 

He loosened his jaw, rolling his head to the side with a snicker. Sam bit his lips and darted his eyes between the two, waiting. 

“Yeah,” Alex exhaled with what looked to be a sarcastic, if sinister, laugh. “I was kinda hoping you might.”

She didn’t have a moment to wonder what that meant exactly, before he punched her in the nose.

An involuntary sound she couldn’t hear escaped her, and she reeled back. Her hand clapped over her face and felt wetness there, as blood began to seep from her nostrils and drip down to her mouth. She sputtered, coughing a bit in search of words. “What’s  _ wrong  _ with you?!”

If he was speaking, she couldn’t see, as she shut her eyes tight to block out the pain that bubbled in the front of her face. Another shove at her shoulder, likely from Sam, sent her stumbling backwards some more, but she threw out an elbow and caught him in the chest with a high-pitched grunt felt in her throat.

She blinked past angry tears she didn’t notice to catch a glimpse of Alex’s lips as he told her, “this is  _ your  _ fault.”

A knee hit her diaphragm, and she went down, hitting the ground with her back and crying out into the evening. Weight dropped atop her torso, and she snapped her eyes open to see Alex straddling her waist. One of his cheeks was red, and she could almost guarantee he was seeing that same color.

“Don’t have a clever way out of this one, huh, farmer,” he snarked, his confidant kneeling down as standby. “You act all smart, but the second y—”

Quick as a snap, she clocked him in the mouth with her fist. He careened back with a shout, his hands going to cradle his bleeding gums, as Erin retracted her arm swiftly, and began to shimmy out from under his weight. 

“Fucking—” he growled as he took his bloodied hands away. Erin saw the redness dripping from the corner of his lip to his chin, and felt a moment of triumph. “Get her arms. Shit.” 

She went to deliver another punch, riding the high of landing an effective one, but she didn’t get the chance before Sam was suddenly behind her head, grabbing her wrists and pinning them down to the grass. 

“Wait—” Erin snapped, and tugged against Sam’s grasp, but the two were workout buddies, and he was only marginally less strong than his friend currently atop her.

“Nah, you’re fucking done.” Alex shook his head, wiping blood off his bottom flip with the back of his hand. His free one found her neck to keep her head still, smearing blood on her pale skin, while the other turned into a fist and wound up. 

He caught her in the brow, and her head was thrown back. Pain sparked through her right eye and her forehead, and she had let out some embarrassing sound, she was sure, but she felt too dazed to know. Writhing to loosen the hands on her, she opened her eyes back up to see the blurry image of her bully ready his fist once more. 

He stopped, as he flinched so hard he almost fell off of her, and his face drained of color. Sam let go at the same time, and jumped back. She’d felt it, a sharp blast to her right, but couldn’t pinpoint the cause.

Alex’s gaze was fixated the same way, his left, eyes wild and mouth bloodied, and as Erin craned her neck from the ground to look behind her, she could see Sam looking in the same direction. 

She frowned, sleepy, and slowly followed their eyes to find the front door of the Stardrop Saloon, open and alight. 

The barkeep stood in the threshold, his face hard to see, though that wasn’t the main focus. In his hand was a gun. A revolver, it looked like, pointed to the sky and smoking. 

Gus was shouting, gesturing with the hand not holding the weapon. He was fuming, arms unsteady. She could only make out some of his words. 

“—not gonna say it again. Get the fuck off my property, before the cops show up and throw you all in the goddamn clink, you understand?!” 

Alex stared, slack jawed. Sam went to say something, shuffling to his feet and trying to reason with the burly owner, but Gus merely fired off another shot into the night sky. 

“I said, scram!” 

The boys jumped back again. Alex pushed himself off of Erin to stand, and she caught her breath as the weight lifted. He beckoned for Sam to follow, turning his shoulder with a huff and hurrying back off to his house, right next door. 

Still laying on the ground, Erin watched the two pairs of feet recede into the night. She let out a wheezing breath, and slowly turned herself over to start the process of standing. 

She’d almost gotten all the way up without collapsing when she felt a hand under her arm, hoisting her to her feet and keeping her steady. 

Erin looked over to Gus, who waited until she could see his face before he spoke. “Not you,” he shook his head with a disgruntled sniff. “Come on. Doc’s this way.” 

She opened her mouth to respond, but realized she truly didn’t feel like it, as the blood from her nosebleed filled her mouth and continued to dirty her chin and the front of her overalls. She nodded, unsure if this was for reprimanding’s sake, or for that of her safety. She didn’t question it, and started walking, as Gus helped her along. 

The walk was short, as it was anywhere in town, but that only meant the feeling of dread sank in faster upon seeing the clinic’s blue cross appear in the dark. She didn’t want to think of what Harvey would say. 

She stopped walking, and patted Gus on the shoulder with a hint of panic. “No, I don’t think it’s a good—” 

He looked to her, unamused. “We’re gettin’ you patched up. No buts.”

She went to refuse, but shut her jaw with a grumble as he stepped ahead of her to open the door of the clinic, before letting her in before him. 


	2. bandaged up

It was past three, which meant both that the office was closed, and that Harvey was probably in bed already, that nerd. She would rejoice in her head, since perhaps she could be saved the humiliation of facing him. 

No such luck, as Gus next to her began to call into the clinic. “Doc, you free?” 

Whatever the response was, Erin didn’t know, and could only hope it was nothing. But a moment later, she’d be proven wrong by the sight of the doctor entering the front room, running his hand down his face before even greeting them. 

“We close at three, Gus, I’m behind on paperwork, I really don’t have time for—” 

Harvey began, and then stopped, as he looked up from the front desk to see not only the bartender, but the worse-for-wear farmer standing next to him. His face fell, and behind his glasses, she could have sworn she saw disappointment and concern. She hated it.

“Erin.” Harvey swallowed.

She gave a weak smile, and a lazy salute, signing at the same time she spoke. “Hey, doc.” 

She must have been quite the sight to behold. Her upper brow still throbbed in pain, and would likely bruise down to her eye, though her bleeding nose and lips were more obvious. Her front denim pocket was stained a rust color, her light pink hair was falling out of its bun, and was dirtied with grass and dried mud. Her arms and legs had soil up them as well. 

“Jesus.” 

“S’it okay if I leave her with you?” Gus spoke up. “I got the regulars coming in a few minutes.” 

“Sure,” Harvey nodded, but didn’t look at him, his gaze transfixed on the beaten farmer. She looked at the wall next to his head. “Thanks.”

Gus nodded, patting Erin on the back. “Get home safe, farmer.” 

She acknowledged him with a small smile, bringing her fingertips to her chin and then away as a “ _ thank you _ .”

She watched him leave, before looking back to Harvey, who sighed deeply. He waved for her to follow, and she did, as he led her into the back examination room, all the while making her feel like a child about to be scolded. 

He motioned for her to sit on the elevated paper-sheeted bed, mumbling something too small for her to catch, as he headed to the other room, likely to grab supplies. She was given a couple minutes to herself to swing her legs off the edge of the table, observing the pain in her chest and her stomach with a frown. 

He soon returned, bandages, gauze, and ice packs in hand, and began looking over her injuries without another word. She’d expected at least the beginning of a lecture, but the stern and silent look he wore might have been worse. 

He took a wipe in his hand and began to clean her bloodied face, and for fear of moving too much, she refrained from signing to instead say, “I bet this isn’t the worst you’ve seen me, though.” 

She watched his face, close as it was to her, as he dabbed at the blood on her nose and lips. She continued, trying to keep the mood light, she thought. “When I passed out in the mines that one time, and Robin brought me here, remember? I was way more beat up than this.”

“No, you weren’t,” Harvey responded simply. 

She ground her teeth, and let him finish. He left the room again and returned with a small computer on wheels, a blood pressure cuff and several wires attached. 

He sighed. “I’m gonna take a look at the numbers, and while I do that, you’re gonna tell me what happened.” 

Erin swallowed, and stuck out her arm for him to measure. “Gross.” 

“Go ahead,” he nodded, catching her eyes, his brow knit, before beginning to take her vital signs. 

She took a second, unsure where she wanted to start, and stared ahead at the posters and eye chart on the opposite wall. “It’s about Alex.” 

Harvey’s hands stopped. “He did this?”

“I started it,” she corrected, instinctively putting a hand atop his to relax him, before taking it back. “It was…” she took a breath. “It’s stupid, is what it was. We had a… thing, and I didn’t take it as seriously as he did, and I think I knew that. I was kinda stringing him along, y’know, leading him on, which I shouldn’t have.” She explained, merely speaking aloud the rationale she was giving herself. 

Erin scanned his face as he worked, and she swore she saw redness in the doctor’s cheeks. She cleared her throat.

“But then he made it all personal, and mean, and called me names. So I got mad.” She shrugged. “We fought, things got physical. Sam was there, so it was two against one, and now I’m here. And that’s it.” 

Harvey finished, jotting down something on a clipboard, before doing away with the vitals machine and going back to examining her obvious wounds, namely her nose and developing black eye. 

“You’re gonna tell me that I’m stupid and this could have been avoided.” 

“No, I’m not,” he shook his head, but her bluntness made him crack a weak smile. “You’re not stupid. Standing up for yourself is important.” He took out a small flashlight and studied her pupils.

She exhaled, swinging her legs some more. “But?” 

“But, you got the living daylights kicked out of you,” he stated the obvious, flickering the light in her eyes, before meeting her gaze in earnest. “And I hate seeing you hurt.” 

Her face softened slightly, and she nodded in understanding. “Right.” 

He spent another moment on her left pupil, before she saw him say, “In here.” 

She thought she misread him. “What?” 

“Nothing.” He dismissed her and clicked off his flashlight, before pocketing it. 

Erin narrowed her eyes, and glanced to the empty doorway of the examination room and back to him. “You called her?” 

Harvey opened his mouth to refute her, but shut it with a sigh. 

“Wh—?” She blinked, baffled. “How could— you’re going to worry her for nothing.” 

“You got jumped, Erin. It’s not for nothing,” he looked to her, almost with sadness behind his plastic frames. 

The doorway wasn’t empty a second later, as Leah all but ran into the room. 

Erin paused, swallowing, before signing. “ _ It’s not as bad as it looks _ .” 

“Are you kidding me?” Leah barely let her finish, her breaths quick and her hair, though neatly braided, a bit tousled from the jog over. She signed the big words alongside her exasperated speaking. “It looks pretty damn bad.” 

Erin sniffed, and it hurt her nose. “Ow.” 

“Who?” Leah demanded, her thumb on her chin to match. 

Harvey was leaning up against the counter opposite the examination table, and he folded his arms. “Alex.” 

“I’ll kill him,” Leah nodded, shrugging, as though this were obvious. “He’s dead now.”

Erin cut her off with a vocal  _ mn-mn, _ and gestured, “ _ I hit him _ .”

Leah’s brow creased. “What happened?” 

The farmer sighed, and motioned to the doctor, who pointed at himself in confusion. “ _ You. I’m tired _ .”

He puffed his cheeks, thinking, but he relented, and explained to Leah about the fling turned fight, as she listened with angry nods every so often. 

“This was about your… hook-up?” She questioned as Harvey finished, and Erin grimaced at the word, but tilted her head in a half-nod. “I thought it wasn’t that big a deal.”

“ _ That’s what I said! _ ” Erin scoffed with a tiny laugh, throwing her hands up at the end. 

“That’s still… I can’t believe he’d lash out like that. What set him off?” 

Erin thought back to the beginning, when Alex had accused her of switching over to Leah. The one she felt comfortable enough around to switch to her first language, and who came at a moment’s notice. 

She lied, “ _ Bruised his ego, is all. I should have been more upfront from the beginning. _ ” 

Leah shook her head. “It’s not your fault,” she signed, too. “You could probably press charges if you wanted.” 

“ _ I started it, remember. _ ” Erin tapped her head. She took a deep breath, feeling the dull ache in her bones properly set in, along with the pain in her face. “ _ I just wanna go home. _ ”

Harvey spoke up, then. “Actually.”

“ _ Come on _ .” 

“I want to keep you overnight for observation,” he began, and as Erin began to sign in dismay, he put a hand up to stop her. “Just to see how your injuries develop, make sure nothing’s detrimental.” 

“I agree,” Leah nodded, giving a grateful smile to the doctor, who returned the nod. 

“ _ Who’s gonna feed the chickens in the morning, huh? _ ” She returned, feeling confident in that response. 

“I can,” Leah said, as though Erin were crazy for thinking otherwise. “Those girls love me.” 

She chewed her inner lip, her face a little hot. Leah knew her better than even she could remember. ” _ Fine _ .”

“I’ll get you a change of clothes from upstairs,” Harvey offered, and left up the staircase to his living quarters. 

Leah watched him go, before approaching Erin from behind the examination table. The farmer felt Leah’s hand gently weave into her dyed hair, taking the tangled hair band and carefully undoing the ruined bun. 

Tingles went down her back at the light touch, and she let her eyes shut for a moment, the pain not on her mind so much anymore. 

Leah came back around to the front, and Erin watched her. The redhead’s hands reached around to the back of Erin’s head, bringing her hair over her shoulders in order to properly comb through it. 

She almost couldn’t focus on the heart-shaped face in front of her, and she wanted to sleep right then, as Leah’s short nails carded through the dirt in her hair. 

“You worried me,” Leah’s lips said at last, and the slight glisten in her eyes made Erin think she was serious, concerned. 

The farmer nodded almost imperceptibly. “I know.” She spoke aloud and then paused, studying every small freckle on the face only a foot away from hers. “I’m sorry.”

Leah shook her head in her recognizable don’t apologize, and pulled away to straighten herself. “Come on,” she offered Erin her hand, who took it gratefully, and stood from the table on unsteady legs. “Let’s get you ready for bed.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! Alex is a tad OOC, sorry, probably bc i see him as more cruel than he is. next chapter is the comfort part of hurt/comfort bc im a slut for character getting roughed up and then taken care of Oops <3


End file.
